^ Fair point Mirch bhai... When confronted with weapons and you are unarmed then nmost cases the robber is after your money or your watch etc... in such cases your best job is to stay alive and give em the wallet it's not worth dying for.
That said if you live in a volatile environment chances are you will know how best to deal with it. In areas where gun crime is serious you might consider taking suitable measures, if you know your stuff you can obtain permits for weapons and even if you dont plan on shooting back ballistic protection is something one could consider. I requested special permission from BAA when I last flew out of Heathrow, NJI Level 4/5 ballistic plates and covert armour is well worth the money if you are visitng dangerous places.
In most street scenarios though theres some good knife defence you can learn, in the UK most gangs prefer to "shank" or stab the victim so as long as you can keep them back with a decent secondary weapon of your own for example an umbrella then you stand a fair chance of winning. Also the more noise and the longer you make the fight last the more chance you have of being saved or the enemy giving up.
Improvised weapons are not illegal so long as you did not intend to use them as weapons from the outset. You can still be prosecuted for carrying listed weapons though so have a good defence in terms of legal side as well.
Gun crime is rare, but knife crime is alltogether too common and it depends on the knife being used. Thankfully few places have gangs armed with anything more than kitchen knives and crude cheap knives that are not exactly tactical. Gone are the days when Bolo, Switchblades and OTF knives were the fashion.
Small sized pistols are a good source of defense in these situations.
Well again most countries dont allow citizens to carry firearms in public. Even if they did a small calibre or short barrelled weapon is equally a liabiltiy becuase it is not very accurate and theres not much stopping power. It might put off a lone robber coming at you with a knife... but if the criminal posseses something like a shotgun or a rifle then you might just make things worse for yourself. The only small sized pistol suitable for this sort of scenario is something like a Police revolver or Smith and Wesson .38 special thats light but has enough thump. Most 9mm pistols are small, some are powerfull too but they dont pack enough punch to knock the other man down... you would need several shots if your not experienced and its all too messy. Best to just surrender the wallet or try and talk yourself out of it.
I dont mind throwing myself headfirst at an attacker who is like me unarmed. Put weapons into the scenario and things get much more complicated, weapons kill much quicker and you dont have so much control.
Mirch, sorry to hear about. I'm going to share something happened or was about to happen to me.
I was around 13 years old and living with my father in his village right after my mom's death and one day he had to go to someone's funeral and I was alone at home. It was afternoon, I was sitting in the garden, combing in my hair and crying coz of mom's death was quite a recent incident then, I had totally forgotten to lock the main gate of the house, so I was lost in my own world when I felt someone's presence around me, it was a boy from my sister's inlaws' family and he wanted me to go inside the room with him. he didn't dare to touch me but I was so scared but put on a brave face and started telling him the consequences of his any wrong action and then I threatened that I'd scream and shout and call all the people. He stood there for a minute and then left and I was so relieved. Anything could've happen but God saved me.
This event has a deep effect on my psyche and till this day I get nightmares and see myself closing and locking all the doors in my dreams.
I've had some bad experiences too I remember in Pakistan things can get very nasty sometimes. I was young when I had to learn to fend for myself and the knocks you take are like hammer blows against the very stone, but it's what shapes you in the end.
Hareem, Allah SWT saved you. Girls should be able to defend themselves and even if they don't know some skills, timely action can save them from any unfortunate incident. I remember being alone in my office room in lunch time when some aged male colleague entered the room. My hand automatically ran for some thing to use in self defence just in case. Its not that I didn't trust the colleague but sometimes unexpected things happen in life. Better safe than sorry. Girls don't only need to be careful with young guys but with aged decent looking men too. I guess women have this instinct that we can identify the way men look at us and thus we should be able to defend ourselves.
Yes I can. I’ll kick him where it hurts the most .
I usually have good presence of mind but the closest thing to mugging I’ve experienced is once I went to pick up a friend, my car window was down, while waiting outside, this drunk guy came up to my window, shoved his hand inside and asked me for money. I put the window up and his hand got stuck, then I lowered it, he took it out and stepped on my bonnet. I started honking and driving, and he fell off. There was a cop car closeby [this is Detroit, in the univ area, if you know what I mean], and I alerted him. Then I drove around and picked my friend up as if nothing happened :D. It was pretty cool.
Well Hareem theres a defense spray reffered to in Spain as Ladron spray (Ladron means thief in Latin). In the UK the defence spray is not like Pepper or CS spray which causes incapacitating pain to eyes and mouth. It is a bright red flourescent and night-glow spray which you can legally carry and it's reasonably cheap too. It's available from many military surplus stores and it's highly effective for most UK scenarios. It is basically a very bright coloured spray which stains the attacker like a permanent paint and it is very hard if not impossible to remove.
It's not CS or Pepper spray but it's a clever alternative and as far as I know it's perfectly legal too. :)
For other self defence weapons and tactical information anyone can pm me and I'll do my best to help you.
In Pakistan there are a lot more risks involved but again you can always take measures to make sure your better prepared for that wost case scenario.
my teacher told us to keep red chilli powder packets :d
Your teacher is very smart. Not only can that be an effective detterent against humans but many a Cannine tracker team was beaten when the dogs went beserk after sniffing up the chilli groundscent... poor dogs.
I don't know if I could defend myself for real as I have never been attacked.
However at school we had a self defense class and I did learn a few things that have remained with me such as always looking around before going into your house and having your keys ready before you reach home so you are not wasting time looking for them. And if an attacker is trying to steal you phone or purse throw it far away so they will be distracted so you can run. Also jabbing the attacker in the eyes with your fingers is a good way to "hurt" them so you have time to run away.
I don't know if I could defend myself for real as I have never been attacked.
However at school we had a self defense class and I did learn a few things that have remained with me such as always looking around before going into your house and having your keys ready before you reach home so you are not wasting time looking for them. And if an attacker is trying to steal you phone or purse throw it far away so they will be distracted so you can run. Also jabbing the attacker in the eyes with your fingers is a good way to "hurt" them so you have time to run away.
I'd also add not using your mobile phone in a bad/secluded area unless totally necessary.
At a community centre some years ago, we had a lady come and show us some self defence moves. She told us that she had once been attacked from behind by a guy, he grabbed her by putting his arm around her neck and she recommended 3 moves to us, 1 Twist (his down below bit section ahem) 2 Elbow (as hard as you can in the stomach/ribs) and 3 Fist (make a fist and slam it back into any part of his face, preferably nose methinks.
But as someone already said, when you are attacked, its really hard to stay calm and remember any moves or advice you've been given.
The only time it happened to me, it was three white drunk guys and one of them had a knife. I’d been reading about daily stabbings in the paper and I certainly didn’t want to end up on the next edition of Metro, so I took the punch in the eye and handed over the cash and my friend’s phone which I happened to be carrying.
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Lagta toh kuch aisa hee hay.